A Labour council has been criticised after telling families that fostering a
child means they will avoid a housing benefit cut.

Ealing council in west London sent out a leaflet to residents that encourages them to foster children and points out that foster carers are exempt from new housing benefit changes.

From next week, people in social housing will receive a benefit cut if they are deemed to have spare bedrooms. The changes have been called a “bedroom tax” by critics.

The Coalition said the measures are designed to ensure that the best use is made of social housing and to reduce the housing benefit bill, which costs more than £20 billion a year.

The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that the change will save taxpayers £480 million a year and will affect about 600,000 people. The average loss for a single empty bedroom will be £14 per week.

The council’s leaflet said those who may be affected by the changes “could think about using your spare room to foster. Foster children are not counted as part of your household for housing benefit purposes”.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, yesterday said it was “not right” for the council to use an exemption to suggest that people should become foster families.

David Millican, the leader of the Ealing Conservatives, accused the council of offering “financial incentives” to people taking on children.

“It is incompetence by the council and is completely insensitive,” he said.

“You’re not allowed by law to take children to make money out of it.”

A spokesman for Ealing council said: “We want as many people as possible to consider fostering and recognise welfare benefit changes may have appeared to be a barrier to some families who could become potential foster parents.

“Until recently, foster families were not exempt from the changes regarding spare bedrooms so we produced a leaflet to explain the position.”